Ballast-tamper for railway-ties.



G. W. VAUGHAN.

BALLAST TANIPER FOR RAILWAY TIES.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.23,1913.

1.147,660. Patented July 20, 1915.

da@ :Zi wwym/ MAM@ GEORGE W. VAUGHAN, OF NETI YORK, N. Y.

BALLAST-TAMPER '.FOR RAILWAY-TIES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' rat-@need July 2o, 1915.

Application led September 23, 1913. Serial No. 791,399.

To all 'whom t m ag/ concern Be it known that I, Groen W. VAUGHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at` New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Ballast-Tampers for Railway-Ties; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

In tamping the ballast under railway ties it has been found essential that the ballast should be tamped solidly under the ties along the central line,.as Well as from that line laterally toward each -of the edges. Heretofore this work has been practically performed lentirely without the aid of mechanical appliances other than the usual tamping implement which is in the form of a pick-ax having a nose properly shaped to I depress and drive the ballast before it and a shovel with which the ballast is rst cleared away at the sides of the tie and subsequently shoveled back in small quantities as the ,tamping operation proceeds. This method, which is in practically universal use, is slow and requires the employment of a'large number-of men to straighten up a comparatively short stretch of the track. lVhile numerous efforts have been made to provide mechanical appliances for assisting in the operation of tamping the ballast beneath the ties up to the time of the present invention nothing has appeared which was found acceptacle to the engineers of maintenance of way or workmen employed by them, for either the'work performed bythe lapparatus was defective in that-it did not form a solid foundation at the center of the tie 4or else the labor of handling the appa` ratus was so great as to preclude its use by the workmen ordinarily available for such work. For example, it hasbeen proposed to make use of so-called power driven rammers, but with this type of apparatus the tamping bar or tool which is brought intol contact with the ballast is reciproca-ted and its.successiv e reciprocations permit'the ,bal-

last to fall down in front of itfso thatit has been found practically impossible to effectuv ally tampthe yballast at'the center`portion -v of the tie.

Such apparatus, when adapted to be held manually, has had to be supported entirely by the workmen during the entire tampmg operation, for none of the weight could be allowed to rest on the reciprocatory tool, inasmuch as this would immediately result in a reciprocation of the body of the implement, while the -tool or bar 'remains stationary, much to the discomfort of the workmen. Owing to this and to the fact that such an apparatus was necessarily heavy and cumbersome, it has been proposed to mount the same on mechanical supports, such, for example, as a supporting arm attached to the track or a truck adapted to run on the track, but it is obvious that such an arrangement is doomed to failure because of the difliculty in setting the implement laterally or along the tie and at the proper angle necessary for it to assume in effecting the proper tamping of the ballast. Such apparatus, furthermore, is liable to interfere with the progress of trains, it being well understood that any apparatus employed must be of such character that the workmen may instantly remove it from the right of way when a train is approaching.

The present invention has been designed with the foregoing developement of the art in mind, and with the object in view of overcoming defects which such prior apparatus has developed, and to provide a tamper which may be handled readily by an ordinary workman and/the operation of which will be much more efficient and rapid than the ordinary hand tamping process, whereby a single workman may eectually ltamp the ballast under a far greater numjecting tamping bar in such wise that its end within the casing will be in position to 'receive the blows of the impact or percussion member, the connection with the casing being preferably such that movement of the bar in the casing 1s limited, and therefore relatively short in order that the weight of the casing and impact member may be brought down as close to the ground or tamping end of the bar as possible. Toenable the workman to properly position and handle the implement or tamper, the casing is provided at its end opposite the tamp` ing bar with a stock or axial prolongation,-

the upper extremity of which is adapted to form or have applied thereto a handle for one hand of the Workman to grasp and at a point in proximity to the casing the stock is provided with a second handle located in such relation thereto and to the center of gravity of the implement that when the implement is suspended from saidsecond handle, it will assume approximately the angle which is proper for it to assume in the major portion of the tamping operations, it being understood, however, that th@ two handles being located above the center of gravity or above the heaviest portion of the tool permits the tool to be more readily handled and manipulated and the load to be supported by the work'man is less than would be the case if the weight were near the upper end.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred type of tamper which has been successfully utilized for a considerable period,-Figure 1 is an elevation of the complete tamper; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, the sectioned portions being cut in a central plane longitudinally of the axis; Fig. 3 is a transverse section substantially on the line 34-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the manner of holding and using the tamper.

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

ln said drawings, the letter A indicates the body housing or casing of the tamper, within which there is a reciprocatory impact or percussion member in the form of a free piston B of considerable weight adapted to be reciprocated in the casing by pneumatic pressure supplied through a hose pipe connection C, best seen in Fig. 4, and controlled in its action on the piston by the longitudinal movement of the piston itself through ports and passages a and b in the walls of the housing and percussion member respectively, in the well understood manner. rlhe lower or what might be termed the forward end of the housing A is formed into an elongated nose A on which there is mounted a nose piece or shield D, the attachment usually being made through suitable screw thread connections With a spring pressed catch or lock d for holding the parts in adjusted position, and at the same time permitting of their ready separation. The nose piece or cap D serves to. retain in the end of the housing a suitable number, preferably a pair, of liners or gibs E having an aperture between their proximate faces which corresponds in shape to the cross sectional shape of the tamper bar F. The bar works in the opening thus formed, but is held thereby against rotation with relation to the housing. The inner end of the tamper bar F projects into position to -receive the blows from the impact `or percussion member. lt is held against escape by a collar or enlargement 7 confined in a space above the liners or gibs and made suiiiciently long to permit the bar to have a limited longitudinal movement, although the said enlargement normally seats againstan abutment formed by a collar or liner e in the housing.

The shank of the tamper bar F is itself substantially straight at the end which enters the housing, but at its extremity adapted to be brought into operative engagement with the ballast, it is curved, as at F and the extreme end is widened out and provided with a straight, blunt edge at F2, whereby it is adapted for tamping ballast material of widely different character. Obviously, how ever, the nose vof the tamper bar may be of any suitable form adaptedfor the purpose, although, in all instances it is prefably curved as shown at F so as to adapt the-same for passing under the edges of the zie to a point in proximity to the center ine.

At its opposite end from the tamper bar,

vthe housing is provided with an elongated stock G which projects preferably in axial alinement with the housingfand rigidly attached thereto or `formed as an integral part thereof, although it is of light weight and may be conveniently a hollow or pipe extension which is of sufficient length to enable the handles to be presently` described to be located far enough abovethe housing to enable the operator tostand ina substantially upright position and to hold the tamper in an inclined position with the major weight located well, below the handles and in proximity to the support afforded by the end of the tamping bar when'in operation. In the preferred arrangement the upper end of the stock is provided with a spade handle H adjustable angularly thereon by means of a clamp connection t and with a second handle l also adjustably clamped on the stock by a clamp connection z', whereby it may be adjusted both angularly and longitudinally. The handlel is provided with a hand piece I adapted tol be grasped in the hand and located preferably olf at one side of the stock or well out of alinement with the stock and housing. This hand piece I is adjusted or positioned in such relation to the housing that should the whole tamper be suspended therefrom it will hangin an inclined position which substantially corresponds to the angle at which the implement is normally intended to work. Thus, a workman grasping the hand piece I and supporting the tool'thereby finds that it normally and naturally occupies a position in which it should be applied to the ballast for tamping purposes, and should any change in the angle be necessary, the two handles afford widely separated grips which will enable the workman to vary the angle with the least possible muscular effort. 'The center of gravity of the whole implement is located below the lower handle, and the major weight is therefore down close to the ground, where it will notbe felt by the workman, except at such tlmes as he inds it necessary to lift the end of the tamping bar out of contact with the ballast for changing its position or foradmitting more ballast in front of the tamplng end.

In operation, the tamper 1s held by the workman at the proper angle and the end of the tamper bar rests on or against the part of the ballast to be tamped, the curved end of the tamper bar permittmg of its being projected under the tie and assisting materially in supporting the welght of the tamper during the tamping operation, for during the tamping operation it will be understood that the maj or weight of the whole implement is supported directly on the tamper bar, and the percussive blows are applied to the upper end of the bar, there vibrate the housing itself and hence but little vibration is transmitted to the hands of the workman. This construction does awayentirely with the necessity of employing special mechanical supports for the tamper, and enables the 'workman to position and handle the same so as to reach any and all parts of the/ballast, i. e., either centrally between the tracks, or at thev ends of the ties and either along the. center line beneath the ties or at the edges of the ties, a capaclty which it is quite impossible`to secure if mechanical supporting means of any character be employed.

It is obvious that other known means may be employed for reciprocating the percussion member for delivering blows on the end of the tamping bar, such means being well known at this day, butit is essential to this invention that the tamping bar itself shall be adapted to rest in contact with the ballast and support the housing for the remember, the weight of the tool must ybe supported either bythe Workman or -by mechanical supports during the entire time, and this would render the device impractical and ineffective for the reasons hereinbefore pointed out.

With variations in the form of the housing it is obvious that the end ofthe stock which is connected thereto will be varied; thus the stock may be attached rigidly to the housing-or formed as a symmetrical part thereof, permitting the housing to occupy a normal position well below the handles Where its weight will inconvenience the operator tothe least degree.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A ballast ltamper for railway ties adapted to be held manually without mechanical supports, embodying a casing pro- -vided with an internal reciprocating impact member, a tamper bar held by the casing in position to receive the blows of the impact member and having a slight longitudinal bodily movement relatively less than the movement of the impact element, ahandle extension at the opposite endv of the casing from the bar and two handles, one at the extremity of the extension and the other in proximity to the casing in position to cause the tamper to assume the proper angle for tamping/when suspended therefrom, whereby the tool may be positioned with the least effort on the part of the operator.

2. In a ballast tamper for railway ties, the combinati/on with a casing forming the body of the tamper, an impact member movable freely longitudinally within the casing being very little or no tendency to lift or supported by the bar during the tamping operation. n

3. A ballast tamperI for railway ties adapted to be held manually without mechanical supports, embodying a reciprocatory impact element and housing therefor, a

TJ191s.

tamper bar held in one end of the housing -v in position to receive the blows of the impact element, and whereby it may be held in constant contact with theballast being tamped to relieve the operator of the weight of the tamper and two handles, one positioned in proximity to the center of gravity of the tamper, whereby the tamper will assume the proper tamping angle when suspended thereby, and the other above and 4remote from the iirst, whereby the angle of operation may be changed with a minimum eifort on the part of the operator.

4:. A ballast tamper -for railway ties, adapted to be held manually without mechanical supports, comprising a housing, a reciprocatory impact element therein, a tamper bar held in one end of the housing in position to receive the blows of the impact element, and having a. longitudinal bodily movement relatively less than the movement of the impact element whereby it may be held in constant contact with the ballast being tamped, and partly support the weight of the tamper to relieve the operator of said weight, and two handles so positioned relatively to the housing that the tamper will assume an inclined position proper for tamping when suspended thereby.

5.*A ballast tamper for railway ties adapted to be held manually without mechanical supports,'comprising a housing, a reciprocating impact element therein, a relatively short tamper bar held in one end of the housing in position to receive the blows of the impact element and adapted to rest in constant contact with the ballast being tamped, and partly support the weight of the tamper, and means for manually supporting the tamper, the manual supporting means being located above the center of gravity of the tamper whereby the major aieaeeo being tamped, and partly support the weight of the tamper, a longitudinal extension at the opposite end of the housing from the tamper bar, and two handles carried by said extension in such 4relation to the housing that the center of gravity is below both handles and the major weight of the tamper will be supported by the bar during the tainping operation.

7. A ballast tamper for railway ties, adapted to be held manuallywithout mechanical supports, comprising a casing provided with an internal reciprocating impact member, a curved tamper bar held against rotation by the casing in position to receive the blows of the impact member, means for limiting the longitudinal movement of the bar relatively to the movement of the impact member, whereby the bar may rest in constant contact with the ballast being tamped, and means for manually supporting the tamper.

GEO. W. VAUGHAN.

Witnesses:

W. L. CURTISS, STANDISH PRESGOTT. 

